The longer you listen, the better it gets. Still, it’s hypnotic to watch this guy mix. Play close attention to around the two minute mark on Moon Rover, where he starts getting Rather Bloody Good with the needle. And nice to see them being brave and tampering with classics in an interesting way, rather than the usual cliché beats.

I’m away for a few days, heading to the coast, plotting books, seeing old friends, drinking wine in the sunshine, or watching storms roll in, treading slowly through nostalgia. In the meantime, here’s by far the best band of the last couple of years, Beirut.

My questions are to the girl on the sofa: are you married, my dear, and if not, are you willing to be taken out for cocktails?

They’ve Incorporated Their Culture And Their Values
Into The City And They’ve Enriched The City
Both Like, From Uh, You Know Work Ethic
And You Know The Restaurants
And The Music
And It’s Really A Diverse City.

I Mean You Walk Through The Vany Avenue,
You Know You Go Through Korean Neighborhoods,
Old Jewish Neighborhoods, Arabic Neighborhoods,
Uh, Pakistani-Indian Neighborhoods.

It’s Incredible.
The Intensity… I Think Yeah,
Development Has Pushed Us Away From Other People.

You Know A Lot Of Times People Are Rude
Because They Want Like Immediate Access
Or Immediate Information.

You Know Some Things In Life Can’t Be Immediate,
Sometimes You Gotta Wait And Let Things Happen…

People Are Like, Are Increasingly Rude.
Like I’ll Say Somebody Will Get In A Cab, We’ll Say
“I’ll Get Em There In 5 Minutes.”
And They’ll Say,
“Well, It Should Only Take 3.”
Now Who Gives A Shit If It Takes 5 Minutes Or 3 Minutes,
Who Cares?

At The End Of Your Life
Nobody’s Gonna Put At Your Tomb Stone
“Shit I Got In A Cab In 5, In 7 Minutes Instead Of 3”.

You Know, It Doesn’t Matter,
And Technology Has Made Us Slaves To Time.
Naw, A Lot Of People That Are Really Have Technical Jobs,
They’re Slaves To Time.
And Time Is The Essence Of Life It Seems Like.
And They’re Basically Like Losing It

They’re Losing The Essence Of Their Life Because,
You Know, Their Life Is Like Just Going Away And,
They’re Not Enjoying It Because Their So Engrossed
In Efficiency And Productivity And Shit Like That.

That It’s Almost Sad.
They All Come Here From Somewhere Else
Like Seeking Their Fame And Fortune Or,
The Top Jobs And They’re And Career-You Know,
In Their, In Their Industries.

They Get Very Engrossed,
And They Into These
You Know These Cell Phones And Computers And…

I Think The Real Important Things In Life Are You Know,
People And Your Family.
I Think You Don’t Realize That,
A Lot Of People Don’t Realize That Until They’re Older.
I Think There’s Going To Be
A Backlash Against Technology

I’m a bit of a closet folkie, really loving it when summer’s on the horizon. You’d do well to find better musicianship than when watching a proper folk collective in full swing, each musician reading the next, feeding off the reaction of the gathered crowd. Plus they have cool instruments. Here’s something a little more stripped bare, Seth Lakeman.
[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zx-ZdSLaUOY&feature=related]

It appears the scumbag legal people at Sony won’t allow embedded YouTube clips of Jeff Buckley. So instead, have a double dose of the next best thing, Sufjan Stevens. The top video, “John Wayne Gacy Jr”, is possibly the most haunting song I’ve ever heard. An interesting thing, that to be disturbing, you don’t have to be harsh and gritty, as clichés go in the arts in modern times. This is subtle stuff, and hugely more powerful. The second video is cool because he’s got a banjo, and that rocks. I dated a girl with a banjo once.

Okay, you get a lo-fi indie musician or band. You stick ’em in the back of a black London cab. You take a camcorder. You watch ’em play. Check out The Black Cab Sessions.

I recommend you watch Seasick Steve, who was the highlight of a Jools Holland Hootenanny a few years back. Also, do find the Raveonettes video, because I believe the girl may well become my future wife if I can track her down. (Reminds me of a girl I once knew… Good days!)